Jeffrey became an unrestricted free agent after the Dallas Stars decided against presenting him with a qualifying offer. He had two goals and three points in 24 games with the Stars in 2013-14. Wed, Jul 2, 2014 01:49:00 PM

He will become an unrestricted free agent as a result. Jeffrey split the 2013-14 season between Dallas and the team's minor-league affiliate in Texas. Ryan Button, Tristan King, Hubert Labrie and Austin Smith weren't given qualifying offers either by the Stars. Mon, Jun 30, 2014 11:52:00 AM

Depth Charts

John Tavares scored his 30th goal of the 2014-15 season on Saturday, but the New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes by a score of 5-3.

That represented his 65th point of this campaign, at least briefly putting him alone at first place in NHL scoring. That could change as Saturday goes along, but the bottom line is that he's having another strong season.

He was nailed by Nashville's Eric Nystrom on a big hit Thursday and left the game with an upper-body injury. Grabovski has nine goals and 19 points in 51 contests during his first season with the Islanders.

Originally seen as questionable due to a leg injury, Nielsen managed to take the morning skate and is slated to center the Islanders' second line between Michael Granber and Ryan Strome. Nielsen is having another strong season as an all-around player. He has 11 goals, 36 points, 44 hits, 65 blocks, and has won 48% of his faceoffs through 61 games thus far.

Ryan Strome scored a goal in Friday's 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames.

Strome scored his 14th goal of the season at the 11:39 mark of the first period. That was the game's only goal until Cal Clutterbuck scored into an empty net late in the third period. Strome was the Islanders first round pick (5th overall) in 2011 and this is his first full NHL season. The 21-year-old has 40 points and a plus-21 rating in 63 games this season. Strome has a bright future ahead of him.

Kael Mouillierat had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 victory on Tuesday.

Mouillierat, 27, was playing in his third career NHL game. He had been held off the scoresheet in his first two contests. "There's times you think it's never going to happen," Mouillierat said. "It's pretty unbelievable, especially at my age, in my first crack in the NHL."

Matt Martin was at practice on Friday after breaking his nose in a fight with Ryan White on Thursday.

The Islanders tough guy missed the rest of the first period but was back out for the second. "For me, Matty's the first star of the night," coach Jack Capuano said after the game Thursday. "He tries to get us going in a tough building, then he comes back after having his nose broken." Martin is having a nice season for an enforcer with 78 penalty minutes to go with seven goals and nine points. He leads the NHL in hits with 253, 37 ahead of teammate Cal Clutterbuck and 56 ahead of Brooks Orpik.

Brock Nelson scored a goal and added an assist for the Islanders in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Coyotes.

Nelson had recorded just two points in his prior 10 games entering tonight so this was a welcome breakout for his fantasy owners. Unheralded rookie Kael Mouillerat also picked up his first two career points with a goal and an assist in the victory while Matt Martin, Johnny Boychuk and Anders Lee also tallied for the Isles.

Kyle Okposo has yet to skate since suffering a detached retina in late January.

Okposo was expected to be out for six-eight weeks and that would have him back in the lineup in mid-to-late March. He has 44 points in 46 games this season including a four goal game against the Penguins on January 16. Just an update in case you were wondering about his status.

Josh Bailey registered his ninth goal of the season as part of a 3-2 win over Edmonton Tuesday night.

Bailey's renaissance playing alongside John Tavares was short-lived and the depth forward was moved down the Islanders pecking order recently. Colin McDonald and Casey Cizikas also scored for the Isles in the win.

The New York Islanders have acquired Tyler Kennedy from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick.

Kennedy has four goals and nine points in 25 games in 2014-15. He'll help bolster the Islanders' bottom-six forward group ahead of what New York hopes will be a lengthy playoff run. It's a helpful pickup for the Islanders, but Kennedy still isn't likely to have much fantasy value in standard leagues.

Nikolay Kulemin had two goals and an assist in a 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Kulemin now has 11 goals and 20 points in 46 games this season. Michael Grabner, John Tavares, and Nick Leddy each had a goal and an assist. Josh Bailey and Anders Lee also found the back of the net for the Islanders. Johnny Boychuk assisted on two of New York's seven markers.

Cal Clutterbuck will skate on the Islanders' third line to the left of Brock Nelson and Nikolay Kulemin on Thursday night against Toronto.

Clutterbuck missed the previous two games with an upper body injury. He trails only teammate Matt Martin for most hits in the NHL, but it's not even close. Regardless, if you're in a league that rewards his 220 hits, 42 PIMs, and 12 points over 49 games this season, then get The Buck back in your lineup.

The New York Islanders are going with Brian Strait instead of Lubomir Visnovsky on defense Saturday.

It says a lot about the Isles' improved defensive depth that they can scratch "Lubo" fairly regularly, although it does also highlight the fact that the injury prone (yet talented) blueliner isn't the offensive threat he once was.

Johnny Boychuk is looking for a contract extension as he is eligible to become a UFA on July 1.

Both sides are not talking to the media at this time but it's hard to believe that with the Islanders having such a successful season, that they would trade him if the two sides do not agree before the Monday trade deadline. He has seven goals and 30 points in 54 games with a plus-16 rating.

The New York Islanders have signed Nick Leddy to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract extension.

In other words, Leddy will come with a $5.5 million annual cap hit, which is a big raise over his 2014-15 salary of $3.4 million. That's not a surprising increase though, given that Leddy has proven to be a very effective top-four defenseman with the Islanders and has been a big part of the team's breakout campaign. He has eight goals, 25 points, and a plus-12 rating in 61 contests. The Islanders acquired Leddy and Kent Simpson from the Chicago Blackhawks in October in exchange for T.J. Brennan, Ville Pokka, Anders Nilsson.

De Haan will replace Lubomir Visnovsky. He was a healthy scratch on Thursday after missing five games in February with a facial injury. De Haan has a goal and 12 points this season with a plus-six rating. He is not worth a selection in fantasy hockey.

Thomas Hickey had two assists in a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

Hickey has two goals and 18 points in 53 contests in 2014-15. The 26-year-old defenseman is in his sophomore campaign and should be able to comfortably surpass his rookie total of 22 points in 82 contests.

Jaroslav Halak might start a little less down the stretch now that Michal Neuvirth is his understudy.

The Islanders acquired Neuvirth from Buffalo on Monday. Neuvirth has been great with the Sabres lately and should be a big upgrade over former backup goaltender Chad Johnson. Halak probably isn't in much danger of losing the starting gig entirely, but the Islanders should be much more comfortable with giving Halak regular games off now. That might in turn help keep him fresh going into the playoffs.

He is going to the New York Islanders in exchange for Chad Johnson and third-round draft pick. Neuvirth has been solid of late, with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage during nine games in February. He'll serve as Jaroslav Halak's backup.